Drexel Morgan check made out to A.H. Pugh and Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, and on the back it is stamped that it has been paid by the German American Bank of Cincinnati.

The check is printed with the Drexel Morgan logo and the address 23 Wall Street, Corner of Broad.

Drexel Morgan was the first bank of J. Pierpont Morgan, America's most noted financier. The bank was founded by J.P. Morgan and Philadelphia banker Anthony J. Drexel in 1871 so this check is quite an early piece indeed. A real treasure from the House of Morgan.

Achilles Pugh was the founder of the A.H. Pugh Printing Company, a publishing firm located in Cincinnati. Pugh's company began publishing James Birney's abolitionist newspaper The Philanthropist in April 1836. Pugh, a member of the Society of Friends, shared Birney's opposition to slavery. Mobs twice attacked the A.H. Pugh Printing Company's office. Many Cincinnatians opposed Birney's views.

On January 22, 1836, a group of Cincinnatians urged the city government to prohibit Birney from publishing his paper. Birney was undaunted. To prevent Birney from printing, a mob of white Cincinnatians destroyed Pugh's printing press on July 12, 1836. Undeterred, Birney and Pugh remained in Cincinnati and continued to publish the newspaper. The mob returned on July 30, 1836, and destroyed the printing press again. On this occasion, the mob threw parts of the press into the Ohio River. Pugh moved his business for a brief period to Springboro, Ohio, where he continued to publish Birney's paper. He later returned to Cincinnati and reestablished his business. He also participated in the Underground Railroad. Pugh's company remained family-owned and operated until the early 1980s, when it went out of business.

A rare piece of U.S. financial and cultural history. This Drexel Morgan reproduction would look great in an album or display.